This book presents a view of teaching and learning that emphasizes meaning and understanding over coverage and facts. Support is given for an integrated approach to teaching social studies and placing social studies at the center of the entire school curriculum is advocated. Chapter titles are: (1) "Integrated Curriculum" (introduces the reader to…

Designed to be planned jointly by teachers and school library media specialists, the 60 units of study described in this book suggest ideas for sharing literature that may be used in developing a scope and sequence of literature experiences for children in grades K-5. For primary grades K-2, the activities are primarily arranged through sharing…

Emphasizing writing and student inquiry, this rich collection offers teachers ready-to-use classroom resources with a sound basis in best practice. Student engagement with community becomes the centerpiece of the book, an engagement that takes place across disciplines through projects involving history, environment, culture, and much more. Editors…

Intended for teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit provides 127 documents from California's history, 38 of which come from the California State Archives in Sacramento, one of the nation's largest and most sophisticated repositories for primary sources. The unit contains three elements: (1) a list of document descriptions, which includes a…

Encouraging teachers of middle and secondary school students to learn to write using their own folklore, each chapter in this book presents a 1- to 3-week unit of study including background information, student activities, transcripts of discussions, and suggested readings for both teachers and students. After an introduction (Knowing Our Insides…

Written for teachers who are interested in learning how to use literature to enhance emergent literacy growth, this handbook, in two volumes, focuses on how to implement integrated, literature-based, thematic units that stress the development of effective strategies required of independent, self-directed competent readers and writers. The first…

This book presents a teaching unit that focuses on efforts to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957--efforts that resulted in a crisis that historian Taylor Branch once described as "the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War." The unit explores civic choices--the decisions people make as…

Designed to introduce teachers to cooperative learning techniques in the language arts, this book presents 24 activity units--12 on outer space (including the exploration of space and its many adventures), and 12 on "inner space" (the mind, the emotions, and the brain). After an introduction and overview, the first section of the book…

Intended for teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit on Florida history aims to help teachers satisfy two educational goals of the Florida State Standards for Social Studies. The first goal is to incorporate Florida history into the curricula. The second goal is to prepare students for assessment of their ability to interpret primary sources. The…

Offering students some thinking and coping tools they can use to make sound decisions based on strong values, this resource book presents numerous selections from children's literature and suggested activities and projects. The book begins with a brief introduction, advice to teachers on using the book, ways to make the classroom more conducive to…

This resource book offers teachers an opportunity to learn and to teach about Native American literature in context. Starting with a discussion of themes, rationales, and subthemes, it moves to an examination of the historical and literary contexts that frame the literary work of Native peoples. Lessons, units, and activities in the book keyed to…

Intended to be used by teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit deals with Texas. The unit is built around the seven standards of the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), an outcome-based social studies curriculum guide for teaching Texas history. The guide includes the following standards: citizenship, economics, geography, history,…

Based on the premise that students can learn a great deal by reading and writing a newspaper, this book was created by preservice instructors to teach upper elementary students (grades 3-5) newspaper concepts, journalism, and how to write newspaper articles. It shows how to use newspaper concepts to help students integrate knowledge from multiple…

Promoting the value of a literature-based curriculum, this curriculum guide presents selections of Caribbean literature and related learning activities designed to enhance Canadian students' awareness and knowledge of Caribbean culture. After an introductory section that discusses the history of the Caribbean region and tracing roots through…

Intended for teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit on ancient Rome introduces students to a variety of primary sources, all chosen with the idea that they can be used to form an accurate and informative picture of what it was like to be a Roman during ancient times, and the similarities and dissimilarities between life then and today. The unit…